


To Program A Heart

by convenience



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Hacker!OC, Hydra, I have no idea what I'm doing but here we go, IronStrange, M/M, Multi, The Avengers Are Good Bros, Tony Stark Has A Heart, everyone is gay and you can't stop me, thorbruce
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-22
Updated: 2018-09-14
Packaged: 2019-07-01 02:22:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15764649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/convenience/pseuds/convenience
Summary: Adina is a hacker who lives on a council estate, but all of that changes once Tony Stark is sitting in her little living room with her best friend who is unhelpfully hanging on to his every word.Shuri is a princess, a genius of a high status, and the only one who could get through her series of encrypted data, hiding her truth._ - _I don't know how your brain works so wellAnd if i did, I might explode.Even if I could, I don't think that I wouldwant to decipher, your series of code.(How Could I Not, Tom Rosenthal)





	1. The big bang

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya loves! I have no idea what I'm doing but I'm excited and I love my babes.

Adina’s room had seen many events - birthdays, best-friend-anniversaries, christmasses, pride pre-parties. The one thing that had stayed the same all those sixteen years was the crackling peach wallpaper and the small, pudgy Muslim girl often found cuddled up to the Jewish girl, or plotting with her, or drawing alongside her. Anything, really.

 

The room had made governments shit themselves and get exploited all over social media, or made companies go bankrupt. All under the alias of Sazif Knuc.

 

Dila looked up at the ceiling of her best friend’s bedroom, admired the cracking peach paint, smiled softly at the algebra and history post its stuck up there for revision. She looked at her phone, clutching the captain america case around it and scrolling through twitter, noticing something strange.

“Mm.. your twitter has blown up again” The dark haired girl commented softly, her head on her best friend’s jumper-covered stomach “What’d you post this time? Thought we were taking a break from governments?” She asked, eyes closed.

“Huh, did it? I posted that I was going into a new venture” She commented with a lazy grin across her cracked lips “You know how you’re so obsessed with the Avengers?”

She gasped, loudly, sitting up and hitting her head on the low ceiling - the only problem with the loft bedroom that her best friend Adina had. “You didn’t, no way!” The girl exclaimed, holding her hand over the sore top of her head.

Adina only nodded, wincing at the bash and getting up to pull out an ice pack from her mini fridge - Dila hit her head alot - and passed it to her “Best believe it, Dila. Stark’s tech is interesting, you know. I could do all kinds of shit with it. It’s concerning that he keeps it all on one database though - keep that on your head, idiot”

“Can you hack their phones? Is it wrong that I wanna see all the effects of the super serum?” Dila asked, her dark skin and hair making her surprised eyes even more accentuated as she held the navy blue pack to her head.

“You, my friend, will only see the captain’s cock if he wants you to” Adina shook her head “Not letting your obsession further itself”

“As if you haven’t tried to find nudes from the black widow” She scoffed, but was cut off by Adina’s dad knocking the door.

“Sweetheart? There’s a nice man here for you, says he wants to offer you a scholarship!” He beamed, walking in.

“Oh! I… we’ll be right down, Dad, thank you” 

After shuffling frantically and throwing on nice, but casual, attire, they jogged down the stairs, Dila almost fainting at the voice she heard, grabbing onto her taller friend’s wrist “That’s fucking Tony Stark!” She whispered.

“Oh, fuck. Play it cool, yeah?” Adina muttered, walking down the stairs and into the living room.

Once the three were situated in the living room, Adina’s dad shuffling about and offering digestives to the billionaire, Tony began to talk.

“Kid, we’ve had a breach in security at Stark Tower. I’m talking phones, databases, everything” He began, trying to catch her out

“That’s concerning, that you don’t have suitable security on it. But why do you need to speak to me about it?”

“Because you can help me out, Sazif” He smirked.

“Oh, shit” She swore under her breath “You gonna arrest me? For the record, it was too easy. One database? C’mon”

“Adina! Let him talk!” Dila hissed softly.

“Thank you, now. As you’ve managed to hack into it with ease, there is no better person to take over with data security than yourself”

“I… what” She deadpanned.

“We could very much need your skills in our avenger work, seeing as your alias was concrete”

“That’d mean you’d give Dila a job too. She did the art, and I don’t go anywhere for long without her”

“The art, what art, kid?” He asked, confused.

“The passport photo? The drivers licensce photo?” She clarified “All her work”

“Holy shit. I’ll talk with your dad about you coming to work for me in the tower, and then I’ll talk to yours… Dila, was it?”

“Yes, yeah. Yup” She replied with a bright smile, freaking out due to the fact that the Iron Man knew her name.

“Right. I’ll pick you both up from this house, at six am. Bring belongings and any medication you need, I’ll cover your housing and insurance whilst you work”

“Holy shit. Yeah. Thank you.” They nodded, falling into excited silence.

“This isn’t a ploy to get us arrested, right?” Adina checked, running a hand through her hair “Because as well as I can fight, I cannot possibly be better than the Avengers.”

“Kid, relax. You’re gonna have your own rooms in the Avengers Tower, you’re gonna continue to hack stuff, and I’ll pay you to program”

“Right… and if I wanted to hack into something dangerous? But I knew what I was doing and I could use it for the benefit of the whole world?”

“What’ve you got in mind, Kid?” He asked, skeptical of the scheming girl.

“...I want to hack into HYDRA’s databases. I already have a few things done. I just need assistance to go get to the physical hard drives”

“We’ll see.”  He answered coolly, trying to work the spritely girl out.

“You have no idea how much I hope that’s a yes, because I have meticulously planned folders of this stuff.” She admitred with a shy grin “Literally massive folders”

Tony nodded, already taking a liking to the new kid “Alright, I gotta go. See you two at six, don’t be late!” He grinned with a wave.

Once he was far gone, Dila looked at her taller friend and wrapped her arms around her, squeezing tight until Adina tapped out with a wheeze, grinning as she gasped slightly for air.

 

By six thirty am, the two were in Tony’s private jet - Dila beaming and looking out the window, taking pictures of the view as they went, Adina sitting next to Tony and passing him one of the folders.

“Mr Stark, this is what I was talking about. I know his mind is stored in a computer, along with his memories, and if we can access that, we can infiltrate years of planning, all of the members, and with evidence to put them away for life” She told him, her hands firmly on rhe table in front of her “How did you get my identity? I need to know so that I can cover it up whilst doing this. I do not want any of HYDRA on my back”

“Your identity was only found through Wakandan technology, by the most impressive genius possibly in the world. I will get an arrangement for yourself, Dila, and Princess Shuri to meet and discuss it” He told her, equally as quick “I assure you that HYDRA will not attack you, at least successfully”

“Right. Okay. Thank you, Mr Stark”

“Call me Tony, kid” He shook his head “Don’t thank me. Just doing what’s right.”

“I’m thanking you anyway, Tony. If we’re going to meet any of the Avengers, it would be good to warn Dila beforehand. She is their biggest fan and will faint” Adina informed him with a hum, looking over at the girl, her Captain America phone case catching one of the overhead lights.

“We are going to meet them, yes, as you will be helping them improve their technology. Hopefully you could teach Steve and Bucky about modern technology, as well”

“It’d be an honour” She chuckled softly “Though it may be a good idea to have Dila teach them? To get over her starstruck-ness?”

“Whatever you think’s best, as long as they learn how to use email and social media”

“Have they not grasped email…?” She asked softly, shocked.

 

“Nope. Don’t be expecting too much from ‘em, kid” Tony chuckled “Did you teach yourself to hack? Or..? Is there a book?” 

 

“I started off with books and then went further into the internet, developed knowledge and made lucky guesses that I stuck to” She hummed “It’s strange. Why?”

 

“I was wondering, ‘s all. When I went through your records, I was suprised to see you weren’t at a private school”

 

“My dad’s an uber driver, Tony” She sighed softly “My mother’s family give us money if we need it, and we normally do. Private school is not an option, and I’m doing completely well on my own as a commoner.”

 

“I’ll pay for schooling if you wanted to persue your education and wait a few years to work.” He jumped at it, hoping to give the young girl a best shot at life as possible “Any college you want, you got it”

 

“No, no thank you, Tony. I couldn’t accept the money” Adina shook her head “Plus school is all about this authoritarian pecking order that I do not want to put myself through. Dila’s parents have been saving up for when she leaves high school, hopefully she’ll get in on a scholarship”

 

“I’ll pay for hers, then. Accommodation and all” He decided, and was ecstatic to see the girl smile “Is that a yes?”

 

“It’s a ‘ask her and her family, but thank you so much’. It’s astounding that you can afford to do this”

 

“It’s good to give back, and it helps me sleep at night, so where’s the fault in that?” 

 

“There isn’t one, Tony, apart from the fact that helping others won’t completely make grief, PTSD, and anxiety away. Councelling or therapy, however, may help in the long term”

 

“Yeah… thanks kid” Tony had heard the suggestion from Pepper, from Stephen, from everyone who got close enough to know him. So how strange it was that this girl had suggested it by knowing him for a day.

 

Then he realised.

 

Adina had seen his search history.

 

“Fuck” He cursed under his breath once she had gone and sat down next to Dila “All the… shit. I’m gonna have to talk to her about that.” ‘That’ was a mixture of gratuitous pictures online found of Dr. Strange’s glutes, mental illness quizzes, and midnight google searches.

 

Deciding to get his mind off of the crushing embarrassment and spiralling panic attack, he began reading through her file on her big hacking project - it would take atleast Cap and maybe Thor to protect her whilst she retrieved the information, and even then it was shaky. He wondered why she was so determined, and worried for a split second if she was just trying to impress him, but then realised that the file was fifty pages long and impossible to create in a day. He hoped.

 

Then, another one of his adopted kids phoned, although this one was named ‘spiderkid’ in his phone. He was often causing trouble for himself, and as much as he adored the boy, it tended to grate.

 

“Mr Stark! I know you said you’d be back by lunch so do you want me and Mr Loki to get you any chinese takeaway? Mr Strange is coming too so that we’re safe!”

 

“Heya kid. I’m great, thanks. Tell Stephen that I’ve adopted two more kids, as he’d put it. I’ll see you back at the tower, Peter”

 

“Seeya Mr Stark!” His voice chirped before the call cut off, Tony placing his phone down and rubbing his face. Why did he agree to adopting so many children.

 

                          ______

 

Tony lead the two down into the tower from the helipad, pretending that he couldn’t hear Dila loosing her cool with every passing second. 

 

“JARVIS, tell everyone to get to the meeting room, we have to make introductions” He told the AI, taking his sunglasses off and sliding them into his blazer pocket.

 

Adina wrapped an arm around Dila, trying to keep her still and calm, and also taking the captain america case off of the girl’s phone and putting it in her bag, knowing it would make her embarrassed if it was noticed among the Avengers.

 

The philanthropist opened a door and stepped in, then stepped aside for the girls to be seen in the room of superheroes.

 

“Guys, this is Adina, who hacked into our database” He announced “She is also responsible for anything done under the name of Sazif Knuc. She will be taking a large role with our programming and technology. Any tech issues, let her know”

 

Adina smiled shyly, giving them a wave and a nod, a hand on Dila’s lower back to keep her grounded.

 

“This is Dila, who will be creating your false identity photos if needed” He nodded towards Dila, who was beaming. “I’ll leave you guys to talk whilst your rooms are set up”

 

They sat down on a spare sofa and the room fell dead, until Peter stuck his hand out and grinned toothily “Hi! I’m Peter, I’ve seen your twitter!”

 

Adina nodded and shook his hand “Heya, it’s great to meet you. Dila’s a massive fan of your work”

 

“Thanks! Your art is really, really good” He smiled at the muslim girl, who was blushing crimson red.

 

“So, how old are you two? Mind my manners but you don’t look too old yourselves” Steve asked, a comforting and gentle smile on his face.

 

“I’m sixteen, Adina is seventeen” Dila informed him with a smile “Why?”

 

“You’re that young and you’ve managed to hack into Stark tech?” He asked, which made Dila’s smile brighten even further as she nodded.

 

“Uh, did you go through all of the data?” Bruce asked, sitting next to Thor and Loki “Phones and all?” 

 

Adina nodded “Yeah, I did. I’m not a wanker though, whatever was there stays private, don’t worry. I feel like some of you may need to use incognito a little more than you should, though”

 

“Incognito?” Thor asked, visibly confused at the mention “What is this incognito you speak of? Is it an application?”


	2. The soft one

There are things you don’t expect from a new place with new people, and one of those is that you’ll fit in right away. This was true for everything, especially Stark tower. At least, for Adina it was, Dila was having a great time and was showing thor all the board games she knew with glee from both of them.

The Jewish girl was on edge, careful not to let her guard down or eat messily, scared of losing her job. She was herself around Dila, and so when she voiced these concerns, she was met with a comforting smile and equally as comforting words, with actually good advice.

So, she took it. Once she was in the lab again with Bruce, she looked over at him whilst he was doing something odd with Tony’s suit. 

“Bruce?” Adina asked softly, pausing from her programming of Peter’s new suit, making sure the final details were perfect.

“Yeah?” He asked, head still inside the shell of the suit.

“Were you...I,.. Uh.. fuck. I feel really nervous infront of everyone here. It’s not because you’re a bad person, or anyone here is anything but amazing to me. I just.. I’ve never been good with new people”

“I get it, yeah. Don’t worry about it. Tones noticed something was off, asked me to talk to you to make sure you were okay. They all mean well, and I get that they can be a bit… much. Tony offered you an abundance of money yet?”

“Yeah.. offered me an education at any school I wanted, and he gave me this job, and lets me live here, everything covered. He’s given Dila a place at one of the best schools there is, and that’s all I ever wanted”

“You and Dila, are you a couple?” He asked “I’m not against it, don’t worry about anything like that”

“I know you aren’t, I’ve seen your texts with Thor, Bruce” She smiled softly “Me and Dila are like sisters, though she has said that if she was into girls she’d have a massive crush on me, bless her. She’s had my back through all of my girlfriends”

“Oh, uh. You won’t tell anyone about us, right? We’re waiting to tell people and-”

“I wouldn’t, Bruce” Adina confirmed “I wouldn’t. Gay code” She joked with a wink.

“Gay code” He nodded “So, are you..? Or are you Bi?-Sorry, it’s none of my business”

“Full on lesbian, yeah.” Adina nodded “Lesbian Jewish Syrian hacker” She hummed “Straight out a bar joke, I am”

Tony walked in, confused by the conversation he had walked in on “Adina? The Wakandans are here, Shuri would like to meet you” He informed her, walking over.

Adina nodded, saving her progress and then getting up from her desk “Yeah, sounds great. How do they like to be adressed? Like.. normal people or with ‘your highness’ and all that?”

“Normal people. C’mon, kiddo. Shuri’s the one who found you out, remember? Her brother is T’Challa, and Okoye is their guard, but also very scary”

“Isn’t everyone in this compound?” She hummed, walking into the lounge room and seeing T’Challa, Okoye and Shuri. Instantly, her heart shot out of her arse and onto the floor.

Holy fuck.

Adina’s mind was racing as she took in the girl. Right, so she was apparently smart enough to get through her meticulously planned identity, and god, she was so gorgeous. Fuck.

“Hi, I’m Shuri, you must be Adina” She smiled, shaking Adina’s hand “Your identity was incredibly well hidden, I am impressed”

Adina nodded, smiling and sitting down, feeling inadequately dressed even though they were both in casual wear - unlike Shuri’s family, who were all dressed formally. “That’s me. I’m incredibly impressed you found my idenitity at all, nice to meet you”

“You are not from America, hm?” She smiled, making Adina chuckle and smile herself.

“No, no. I am from England, as I’m sure you know from your investigating” Adina mentioned the investigating with a hope that it would aid the conversation, not wanting it to end

“About that. I would like to introduce you to my lab, and to the Wakandan methods of programming and engineering. I feel they would aid your work, and that your work would benefit the greater good”

“I would love that, Shuri, it would be an honour. Has Tony told you of my next big plan? Or not?” She asked “The one about the brain?”

“He touched upon it, and I liked the idea so T’Challa changed the subject. Maybe we should go over it with some pizza later? We are here for a few days whilst my brother does something with Tony”

“That would be great, yeah” Adina nodded, then looked at everyone else in the room, seeing T’Challa trying to contact Shuri discreetly and Tony trying to contact her, meaning that they had gotten lost for a short sweet while in eachothers words and company.

___

“Dila” Adina called, walking into the girl’s bedroom shortly after the conversation with Shuri “Guess who has feelings. Again” She groaned, flopping onto the bed next to Dila and laying her head on the girl’s stomach.

“Ooh, who? You know the avengers are like.. thirty, right?” She giggled, starting to play with Adina’s hair as was routine.

“Mm.. Princess Shuri” She hummed “She’s pretty, smart… smarter than me. We’ve agreed to get pizza and discuss my plan for that Nazi brain hack”

“Ooh, you could become a princess” Dila commented “There’s a perk if I’ve ever heard of one”

“I’m not going to date her just to become a princess” She laughed “Plus, her brother is the black panther! Scary as fuck!” 

“He’s fucking hot, though” Dila commented “I start MIT on monday, Peter’s gonna help me out and stuff” She hummed “School’s gonna be weird without you, you know”

“I’ll be right here for you when you’re back, though, and I’ll always be just a text away from coming and picking you up, you know? I would never leave you alone, chick”

“Oh, lucky me” Dila commented sarcastically, making Adina laugh, but then sobering “Thank you, though. I love you too. A lot”

“Mhm.. is it too early to save Shuri’s number with two love hearts?”

“Probably but do it because you two are already my OTP and I bet she’s got you saved with three” 

“You are the best.” Adina chuckled softly “How you doing, lovely? You settling in okay? I see you’ve made friends with Peter” 

“I’m okay, yeah. It’s great. Peter’s great, you’d really like him. His friends are good. MJ is amazing at art.. ...Do you think Stark bought me here because you asked him to? I know you see me for my work, and for me and all that. But Stark, and Rogers. Do you think they see me for me or for who I am to you?” Dila asked, taking a breath shortly after noticing she had not taken one in a while.

“Of course I do, you egg!” Adina told her, sitting up and taking her hands “I think you, Dila Ahmed, are a talented artist, an extraordinary mathematician, and I think your architecture will blow everyone out the park. You’ll be designing everything and anything you can imagine before you realise anyone’s noticed. You are the best sister anyone could ask for, yeah? I’m sorry you’re feeling like shit at the moment, but I promise you it’s just your anxiety playing up, not the truth” Adina rambled honestly, kissing her forehead “I love you, fucknut”

“Honest?” She asked softly.

“Honest. C’mon kidda, when have I ever lied to you” The older girl teased “So, this Ned, is he of interest? Or just a friend”

“I fall in love easier than even you, so we’ll see. Let’s watch Brooklyn Nine Nine, I’m feeling too much”

“Anything you want, Dila. You ready for tomorrow?”

“Ready as I can be… can you wake up with me to try and help me sort an outfit out? Six thirty?”

“I’ll be there. I’ll get you a cereal bar with chocolate in as well”

“You are my favourite person in the world”

 

___

 

There was a pile of clothes on the floor next to the closet as Dila came out of it with yet another outfit - black skinny jeans and a flash graphic tee.

Adina cheered from her spot on the bed “Ding ding folks! We have a winner! You look great” She smiled, getting up and dragging her to the vanity, brushing through her hair “Mmm.. leave it down?”

“Yeah. You forget we haven’t all got skinny faces, ‘dina” Dila chuckled, applying light makeup.

“Well I personally love your cute chubby face, but there we go” Adina shrugged, putting the brush down once she’d finished “You’re meeting Peter in the lobby, right?”

“Yep.”

“Go on then, have a good day! If you need anything, phone me or Tony, yeah?”

“Will do! Tell Shuri I said hi! And then make out with her!” 

___

Dila’s day was going amazingly. Scarily good, actually. It was lunch, and she’d bought her own. Or, really, made Adina order her fast food and then give it to her sneakily on campus. She really loved her life as she shared her halal fried chicken with Peter, Ned and MJ - Adina bought loads because she knew the sharing was inevitable with her gorgeous nerd.

“So, you wanna do art? Like, what type?” MJ asked, looking at her with a gaze that could only be described as a lazy eagle.”Realism, abstract, design, yadda yadda”

“Well, I do realism, but I’m studying architecture” She smiled, flicking through her phone and handing MJ it, displaying a portrait she’d done of Adina, her best work.

“Dude, that’s amazing.” MJ nodded, and then groaned “Flash incoming. Prepare yourself for a whole load of douche”

“Hm?-”

“-Ey, who’s the babe and why is she sitting next to you losers?” He smirked, sitting on the edge of the table “Hey, gorgeous. I’m Flash, but you can call me later”

Dila raised her eyebrows, confused and not amused as she crossed her arms on the table “The fuck? Are you taking the piss?”

“British? Sexy” He winked, and so she gently moved her halal chicken and sat next to him on the table, beginning to whisper some not-so-pleasantries and blood curdling facts.

Horrified, he got up with all of the gusto of a headless chicken and made his way to his own table, a few students watching the scene unfold as they did so. 

MJ smirked and looked at her, biting into a chicken wing “Nice.”

“Woah, what even was that? What did you say to him?” Peter and Ned both asked, their words colliding with eachother, baffled.

“I lived on a council estate with Adina on my left and a drug dealer on the right. You make your mind up of what I know” She winked, grinning.

“Oh! Peter, maybe he won’t keep calling you p-” Ned explained happily, or atleast attempted to.

“-Ned, no” Peter interrupted softly, handing him a drumstick to shut him up.

“Mhm” Ned complained through a closed mouthful of chicken “Mhmmhm mhm mhm mhm!”

“I agree” Mj seconded it, her hand whirring away as she sketched.

“What’re you doing?” Peter asked, watching MJ’s pad, Ned still eating the drumstick that had been shoved towards him.

“Flying, obviously” MJ retorted sarcastically, making Dila laugh. “Nah, I’m sketching Dila. Nice drawing face”

“Thank you…?” Dila blushed softly, laughing nervously.

“You’re part of the nerdcircle now, as long as you know nerd stuff” Ned told her, finishing his drumstick. “Favourite saga or series?”

“Harry Potter, or Star Wars” She hummed “I want to live in Hogwarts, is that too much to ask?”

“I was hoping you’d like Star Wars!” Ned beamed “Once, me and Peter started building the millenium falcon! Out of lego!”

“That’s so cool, Adina bought me that set! We built it whilst we she was doing her GSCEs, so she didn’t get stressed” Dila smiled “I could help you, if you want?”

“Sure! That’d be so cool! You live with the Avengers, right?”


	3. The fluffy one

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone enjoys this chapter!

The next few days went on without a word, Dila gaining a small rep as the girl who had scared Flash into shutting up. She quite liked her new bubble, it was a change not to be in Adina’s shadow - as much as she adored the girl.

The troop of nerds made their way down the hallway, Ned and Dila locked in passionate conversation about how hot Donald Glover was in the latest Star Wars. A pin came and burst their bubble, a pin by the name of Flash. He burst through them from behind, sending Ned and Peter crashing to the ground.

“Penis Parker!” He yelled “Little girl parker! Stop pretending like you’re a guy, weirdo” Flash called, crouching over him, looking smug as people laughed, coaxing them to begin to chant his moniker, Penis Parker.

That was until a hand twisted into Flash’s hair and two fingers stuck up his nose, pulling him upwards harshly. Dila turned him to face her, anger bursting through her veins and making her look more constipated than fueled with rage - she’d work on it later.

“Go. Don’t even think of-”

“Miss Ahmed! Both of you, my office, now!” The head called, her stilettos clicking on the marble floor of the hallway.

___

“Look, it’s not complicated. Peter was being verbally assaulted with transphobia!” Dila cried, getting exasperated and scared “You’re not gonna kick me out, right?” She panicked, hoping that it wouldn’t anger Tony.

“We are going to send you home, and then there will be a meeting with Flash’s parents and yours” The woman told her with a kind smile “No need to panic”

“Uhm.. my parents aren’t available. They live in England. I’m not rich enough to get them over here”

“Your guardians, then. I have it down here as a woman called Adina as your emergency contact?”

“Yeah. Is she going to pick me up?” Dila asked, trying not to smile at that.

“She’s on her way. Is she your older sister? Aunt? It’s impressive that you both came all this way for an education”

“Adina works for Stark tech, head of security” Dila replied, knowing that it may help her chances of less punishment “She’s close with Tony”

“Hello, I’m Adina, Dila’s guardian, I was told to come pick her up?” 

Dila could hear it in her voice, the professional term she used when she needed to get her way, or needed to come off as an educated individual. Which she was, but her natural accent was normally associated with chip shops and tracksuits.

The receptionist buzzed the woman in and she came into view, wearing professional clothes and a stark industries tag, making Dila confused.

“Hello, I’m Adina” She shook the woman’s hand “I’m Dila’s guardian, sorry if I took a while, my meeting was just finishing up.”

“It is quite alright, do you have time to discuss the issue now, or should we brief you on the situation in the meeting?”

“I have time.” Adina replied smoothly.

“There was a fight, concerning Dila and another student” The teacher informed her “There was no serious injury, but when I walked into the scene she was holding up by two fingers up his nose”

“And what did this student do to deserve it? All due respect, but I know Dila - we both come from disadvantaged backgrounds, and so she would never take something as good as this school for granted by getting in a fight. Her parents raised her to be a good person”

“He barged into myself, Ned, and Peter” Dila spoke up “And then screamed transphobic insults at Peter, who the school should know is trans”

“So, from the sound of it, he deserved it, and deserves further punishment for discrimination” Adina finished “We can continue this discussion in the meeting, but right now I have to get back to work. C’mon Dila”

Dila smiled, getting up and following the striding woman out, and getting into the waiting car.

“You, Dila Ahmed, are fucking badass” Adina grinned as she drove “I’m so proud of you. Do you want mcdonalds? I just realised that we’re really rich now and I can afford to take us anywhere”

“I love that we have the option to go anywhere and you said Mcdonalds..” She shook her head softly with a laugh.  
“Do you not want to go?” Adina raised an eyebrow “We can have a sharebox. Each!”

“Of course I want to go, who do you think I am?”

___

Adina had transformed her bedroom from its untidy, treacherous state, to an organised and clean space that she could bring Shuri to without embarrassment. Great. She had found out somewhat attractive loungewear and prepared the dominos app on her phone, and organised all the folders of the plan on her table. After convincing herself to be chill, Shuri texted her and it made her jump out of her skin.

Shuri <3 <3 <3  
Hey, could you buzz me in? Hope you didn’t want me to dress too formal 

As soon as she felt her stomach lurch at her words, she knew that it was too late, that she was so far in love that there was nothing she could do but welcome it like an old friend that only visited every so often, in fleeting journeys.

Slipping her shoes on she walked down to the control panel and buzzed Shuri in, smiling as the Wakandan appeared in the lift. Shuri was dressed in leggings and a thick jumper, sweater paws and backpack straps making Adina’s heart melt three times over.

“Heya!” Shuri beamed, walking towards her with outstretched arms and hugging her tight and then stepping back “Right! Let’s get to eating pizza and changing the world, eh, ‘Dina?”

Adina could cry. This girl, this genius girl, was so perfect that it made her heart swell more sizes than she knew possible. “Sure! I thought we’d just order some pizza and go over my folders in my room? Hope that’s okay, I didn’t wanna risk my research getting out into the open”

“Sounds perfect, lead the way” Then Shuri linked arms with her and she genuinely nearly had a breakdown.

Once they were safely in the room, Shuri was quick to situate herself on the bed, stacked with pillows and blankets. The girl looked over at Adina with a smirk “Well? Let’s get this pizza ordered and revolution started!”

The Syrian girl nodded, smiling fondly as she collected the binders and her laptop, placing them at the end of the bed and then situating herself next to Shuri, opening up her phone.

“Hmm.. okay, what pizza do you like?” She asked, showing her the selection.

“Ham and pineapple, you?” Shuri replied, her nose only inches away from Adina’s, her breath hitching as she realised it.

“Same! Should we just get an extra large hawaiian? Saves money” She shrugged “We can get brownies or something like that aswell” 

“Aren’t you like… one of the best paid people at Stark Industries?” Shuri giggled softly 

“Mhm… Mum used to say ‘you can take the girl from the council estate but not the council estate from the girl’, and that’s pretty accurate”

“You’re from a poor background?” She asked softly, but no pity or disgust was in her voice, which was refreshing.

“Yeah, incredibly so. It doesn’t bother you though, right?”

“Why would it? Money doesn’t equate to character or being a good person” Shuri shrugged “Technically speaking, Wakandans are quite poor - of course that’s because we are quite an agricultural country and we don’t like to trade with other countries really”

“Makes sense. So, we’re ordering one extra large hawaiian and brownies?” Adina confirmed

“Yep. You order and I’ll start looking at - whoa! Ten folders?” Shuri’s eyes seemed to be lit with something like inspiration as she started flicking through “This is… awesome.”

“I’ve been researching for a while” She hummed, having ordered and then shifted to lie alongside Shuri, propped up on their elbows.

“So, how do you plan to do this? Surely they have a hidden ip address - they may be idiots but they’re not.. Idiots”

“They have his mind in a computer, one that Steve and Natasha visited. If we can get to it, and it’s salvageable, we can then further access other computers due to his knowledge of them. It’s like playing dominos”

“Genius”

The night came to an end and Shuri had fallen asleep curled into her side - they’d opted to watch a film whilst eating, and just carried on watching afterwards. The bed was now messy and Shuri could have chosen a range of pillows to use, but she had decided in her sleep that Adina was, infact, one of the best pillows on the bed. The Syrian girl didn’t mind at all, because Shuri was close, and she was soft, and she was so peaceful when she slept that she felt her heart explode within her ribcage.

Eventually Adina decided to do the right thing and text T’Challa to say that Shuri was staying the night - she knew that if Shuri was Dila, and she was a girl she’d only met once, she’d want to know that Dila was safe. Once she got a thankful reply, she switched off the light and covered them both in the light grey duvet, eyes flickering shut and finally staying closed, only able to smell Shuri’s perfume and only able to feel at home.

She woke up in the morning with her phone buzzing persistently, and picking it up with a soft groan she realised it was Dila. Adina answered and reminded herself to keep quiet because there was still a sleeping princess next to her.

“Hey Dila, mhm. Be quiet, Shuri’s still asleep” She mumbled, which elicited a large squeak and roars from multiple people “Am I on speaker phone? Swear to god….”

“Hey kid” Tony called from what she assumed was the driver seat of some car. 

“Shiiiiit. Dila, who else is on the phone, sweetheart, and why have you decided to torture me this morning?”

“First - did you and shuri… yanno.. Be lesbian?” Dila asked, making not only Tony laugh, but the other person in the car - who she assumed was peter, and herself laugh.

“No, Dila, we did not. Is Peter in the car?”

“Yeah”

“Alright, both of you have a good day, yeah? Want me to pick you up from school later?”

“I was gonna build the millennium falcon with Ned, if that’s okay? I’ll get an Uber back, and I’ll text you when I get to Ned’s”

“Great. Tell Peter he’s invited to the next hangout, yeah? And Ned, as long as you’re not gonna force us to third and fourth wheel?” She teased.

“Ok! Bye, bye bye bye! Shhhh! I’ll invite them both! Shhhh!” Dila must have got flustered and ended the call, because she was quickly finding herself listening to the end call buzzes. 

_____

Peter, Adina, Dila and Ned were all lying around the theatre room, watching star wars - well, Ned and Dila were, Ned’s arm around her as they watched. Peter and Adina, however, were giggling like children as they texted each other about the scene unfolding. Eventually, they put down their phones and opted just to whisper.  
“So, what’s Ned like?” Adina asked softly, barely hearable “I’m not gonna go all mum on you guys but… what’s his criminal record like? I’m okay with petty theft”

“..His record is clean. He feels bad when he doesn’t accept leaflets off of people on the street, and has attempted to adopt a total of 16 strays this year”

“I like him” She nodded “Has that Flash fucker decided to lay off of you yet?”

“Nah, it’s okay though. Dila’s scared him so he doesn’t do it as much. Did she train to fight or something?”

“Yeah, we did taekwondo when we were kids because her uncle was a trainer and we needed somewhere to go after school”

“Why don’t you become an avenger?”

“Because I’ve not been bitten by anything, Pete” She laughed softly “Unless you have a tank of radioactive spiders?”

“I don’t. You could get a suit though, like Tony” He countered.


	4. The sciencey one

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi loves! I know almost nothing about this specific science stuff (which is disappointing seeing as I love science) 
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

“So, this is my lab!” Shuri lead her through the doorway with a smile, leading her by the hand. “I have so many videos of T’Challa being pranked by my inventions, you would not believe!” She grinned, outstretching her arms and spinning them both around “So! All of my tech is officially open to you, for whatever you want”

“Great! Can’t wait to see how much smarter you are than me” Adina teased, wrapping her arms around her “Not that I don’t already know it. You’re… phenomenal”

“Phenomenal? That is certainly a new one. Fair warning, if Okoye or T’challa comes in, and they see one of us pressed against the wall, there will be so many questions, so many questions”

“I’d gladly answer all of them if it meant you’d actually press me against the wall” Adina smirked, and then felt her heart lurch in all the right ways when she was turned and pressed against the wall, Shuri’s dexterous fingers gently pressing into her waist, her warm palms against her hips. Adina wrapped her arms around the underneath of her thighs, lifting her, giggling when Shuri let out a surprised gasp “Alright there gorgeous?”

“Could have given me some notice, Adina” She laughed, pressing a kiss to her cheek “You must be quite strong, huh?”

“I’m taking that as a compliment, but you are also as light as a feather - Does Wakanda’s superior knowledge transcend in to diets? Genetics?” The Syrian girl guessed jovially

“You talk a lot”

“So I have been told”

“I’m going to remedy that. Close your eyes” Shuri smirked at her skeptical smile “Go on! Don’t you trust me?”

“You’ll have me dead one day, Princess Shuri” Adina shook her head with a bemused smile and closed her eyes anyway, only to feel soft lips upon hers and so she instantly reacted, holding her closer and relishing in the moment.

After Shuri pulled away, Adina was, infact, stunned. The older girl was frozen in place, grinning, still in slight shock - that had been their first kiss. 

“So, your lover freezes like a deer in headlights too?” Came a voice from the door, making Adina snap back into reality and blush embarrassedly, turning round with Shuri still in her grasp.

“Put me down, Adina” Shuri laughed softly, standing and taking the girl’s hand, leading her to Nakia.

“Nakia, this is Adina, the best person in the world at computer sciences, and she is also my girlfriend. Adina, this is Nakia, my brother’s super cool ex”

“She gets her academic title and I get ‘T’Challa’s ex’? I thought we were close, Shuri?” Nakia joked, and then turned to the taller girl “Nice to meet you, good luck taming her”

“Nice to meet you too, and I wouldn’t dream of trying it” Adina replied, shaking her hand.

“So, what are you two up to? Apart from eating eachother”

_____

Adina was relaxing back at the tower, spending time with Peter in the testing bunker. They were testing her changes to his suit, and she was impressed - Peter was running horizontally on even the smoothest of surfaces, and Karen now had updated medical processes and procedures - they all included him being forced to be safe and healthy, seeing as he had some issues with keeping himself from being harmed. Watching the cams on his suit back made Tony and Adina want to die a thousand times over.

“Peter, try to web directly upwards” Adina told him, holding her phone upside down and recording as he did it, grinning as she watched it over and over.

“Adina, you have a visitor in the lobby” JARVIS announced monotonously, “Mr. Stark requests your presence immeadiately”

“Well, Petey, I gotta go, because it’s either those gorgeous Wakandans or a boring businessman. How do I look?” Adina asked, standing up and looking him dead in the eye.

“I’m a little intimidated and I would be attracted to you if I liked women” Peter answered honestly 

“All I needed to hear” She grinned and fist-bumped him “I’ll be back in a bit, carry on messing with your suit, there’s no way that you can get hurt in it in this room. I bet you’ll still find a way, though, huh?”

“I’ll do my best, ‘Dina!” Peter replied with a smirk.

Adina made her way to the lobby and was shocked to hear Tony talking shortly to someone - it was rare he showed his frustration with visitors, so she stayed back and listened through the wall for a moment.

“You need to tell her. She deserves that at the very least, alright? She is a good kid, and she has looked over the other kid too, gone to all of her school meetings and dropped her off at school all day. I’m not letting you leave this woman without a reason, and that’s if we let you leave”

“Let me? I was aware you were richer than my whole city, but to just stop blood cancer? You cannot do it. Just let me speak to my girl, tell her that I love her, and then leave” 

That was her dad’s voice. Her dad had blood cancer. Her Dad.

Wiping her eyes, she stood up and steeled herself into a neutral expression, walking into the lobby and hugging her dad tight “What’s the occasion, Dad? Did Tony fly you out?” Adina smiled, the tight lipped expression bound to crack any second.

“I just wanted to come and check up on my best girl” He smiled, rubbing her back and ignoring the glares from his daughter’s mentor.

“Are you sure? Are you sure you don’t want to tell me something?” She asked, mask cracking through her voice, it becoming warbly and broken.

“What’re you on about, pumpkin?” He asked softly 

“I heard you both. You’re incredibly loud. You were gonna leave me without an explanation?” She asked “It took you years and pestering from me to tell me about the attack on the Synagogue, who was going to tell me when you went, huh?” Adina was now crying “You were going to give up? My girlfriend is the best doctor to walk this earth, she can fix you, Dad!”

“Pumpkin……. You really think your girlfriend could fix me?” He asked softly “I’m sorry, I just.. I didn’t want to cause you pain, that you’d just forget me over time and have a happy life. Wife, kids, one of those stupid mutts that you like” He was crying now, too.

“Let me phone her. What stage of leukemia are you on? - I could never just forget you, you idiot! You’re my dad, the only reason I followed my passions and got this job!” 

“Three” He answered “I knew a while ago, Mr. Stark only just found out”

“Fucking hell” She cursed under her breath and pressed call on Shuri’s contact. “Hi Shuri, look I’m sorry this is so rushe-yes I’m crying, just shh- my Dad’s been diagnosed with stagae three leukemia, is there anything you can do? Oh! Thank fuck, I fucking love you Shuri, so much. We’re on our way, I’ll get Tony to get us there. We’ll see you in a minute” She ended the call and looked at her dad with a broken smile “It’s not the end yet, Shuri is going to work her magic. Tony, can you get us to Wakanda?”

“Of course - You’ve left Peter in the bunker alone?” Tony asked skeptically, already getting the jet ready from his tablet “You are aware that he is a danger to literally no-one but himself?”

“His suit is fully upgraded, Tony, he could live in it for a week with water and food sources built in. Don’t worry. What’s more important is getting to Wakanda, now” Adina told him, looking over at her Dad “You’re really pale, how didn’t I notice earlier?”

“I hid it from you, don’t blame anyone but me, alright?”

_____

Once they were in Wakanda, Shuri was totally focused, doing things with innate precision at lightspeed - it was mesmerizing to watch, but the haunting reality of the consequences of a possible accident were too horrifying to watch any more of it.

“Adina, are you okay?” Tony asked “You’re ripping the skin off of your fingertips, which means you need to talk.”

She looked over at him softly from where she was hunched over on a sofa “My dad was going to fucking leave me without any fucking notice. He was going to lie to me, straight to my face. He did lie to me”

“Look, kid. I know I’m not the official parent of any of you, and most of you have perfectly functioning home lives and hot aunts, but I feel like when you’re in the Tower - or, hell, anywhere at this point - I’m your guardian. I fuck up a lot, Adina. I ignored Peter, and was generally a dick. Because that’s what parents do, right? They mess up, and they get things wrong, because this is new for them too. I know you’re mad at your Dad, and I know where you’re coming from - my father was often distant and ignorant of anything I did - but he was trying to do what was best for you. It may have not have actually been the thing that would have helped, but he tried, right? What I’m trying to say is, your Dad loves you, and I don’t want your last words to him to be anything but ‘I love you’, and you don’t either”

“Tony….” Adina mumbled softly, reaching forward and pulling him into a tight bear hug, tears rolling down her face “For the record, you do a great job of looking after us lot. Peter knows you love him, and has called you dad many times behind your back”

“You sure? Did you get that on tape?”

“Tape?” She giggled softly “Did Tony Stark just say tape?”

“He did, because he is an old man” Tony nodded “But did you?”

“No, sadly not. You should have a talk with Stephen about at least establishing that family dynamic with each other. It’s there, but none of you speak about it. You need him as much as he needs you, Tony. You need people to need you. Know how I know that?”

“Go on, tell me how, genius”

“Because I do too. I feel like if people actually need me, then maybe they won’t leave. Probably caused by mum disappearing when I was young, to only find out when I was fifteen that she died in an attack on a synagogue by a right wing terrorist group”

“He is going to be fine” Shuri walked in with a soft smile “I’m glad you brought me someone to fix, although I do normally fix broken white boys”

“He’s pale enough to be in that category” She commented dryly.

“Not for long, Love, he’s going to be fine in a matter of weeks with assisted care, alright?” Shuri assured her, kissing her cheek and then looking at Tony “How’s my favourite philanthropist? Is Bruce alright?”

“All good on our end, Shuri, all good. You been taking care of Adina?” Tony asked with a fake stern expression.

“Of course” Shuri played along, giving him a minute bow “Of course, Mr Stark.”

“I’m in a family of nerds, aren’t I?” Adina groaned softly, though she loved it.

“And you’re dating one” Shuri teased, sitting next to her and letting the girl’s head fall into her lap, starting to stroke the dark mop of silk hair.

And for a short, sweet second, Adina felt truly at home without needing her grounding mechs or her phone. It was heaven, but one you see the light, you know you have to come down eventually. Some would argue it’s scarier than actually being there. Adina herself knew that there would always be a balance in the world, that it would start to rain as soon as it had been blue skies, but maybe, just for once, she was ready for it. But then again, isn’t that when it all goes to shit? The monsters jump out when you least expect them.


	5. The pain one

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so so so so sorry about the gap and the shortness of the chapter! Please enjoy it though, I'll make it back up to you guys next chap hopefully.

“Bye Ned!” Dila beamed, wrapping her arms around him, glad she wore her jumper - it turned out that even though America was so much hotter than England, they shared many things, but most commonly freezing nights that froze the warmest of people to their cores, scaring them into a new, intoxicated personality.

“Bye Dila! Are you sure you don’t want to stay the night? I can take the couch! It’s cold, and dark, and I don’t want you to get a cold” He told her softly, smiling back at her.

“Nah, I’ll be fine! I’m from Manchester, sweetheart, nothing bad is going to happen” She smiled “Tell you what, I’ll text you when I get back, yeah? I’ll be an hour, tops. You can panic if I don’t reply in three hours. Seeya soon”

And with that, Dila was alone, walking down the leering streets and popping in her earphones, not really taking in the threat of danger. Adina had told Dila countless times not to walk home alone in the middle of the night, but she didn’t have any cash for the uber and it wasn’t that far away at all. Her earphones were in, blaring ‘One of the Drunks’ - she liked to disconnect on her usual commute, and figured it wouldn’t hurt to do it tonight. She couldn’t even hear the thuddering of her heavy feet, or even have any idea about the drunks behind her, carrying glass bottles and yelling after her. She couldn’t hear the lewd catcalls she got from them, she couldn’t regret wearing her skater skirt with no shorts underneath. She could feel, though. She felt footsteps behind her. She felt panic set into her heart as they got closer. She felt her feet freeze, as much as she tried to move them. She felt the smash on the front of her face as she turned to try and disprove her suspicions.

Glass penetrated her skin, and she let out a scream, the pain unimaginably monstrous as it set her skin alive and seared it. She begged for an ambulance, screaming “Nine-Nine-Nine!” till her lungs felt hoarse and dry, her eyes watched as the men realised what they had done and ran. Dila’s last call, her forever saving grace, her right hand woman, was towards Adina. 

“Ad!” She squealed, the blood running down her face as she leant against the wall of the old car factory “Adina, please..” Dila begged, her eyes drooping and then shutting completely, falling like a sack of shit against the brick wall. Monsters lurk, yes.

__

A masked figure whistled a cheerful tune as he skipped through the street, groaning as he saw someone slumped against a brick wall “Hm! Best investigate for plot development and other reasons only the writer knows yet!” He announced brightly, crouching next to the slump and brushing her hair out of her face, gasping in shock “This is why the writer wanted me here! This is my baby boy’s friend! Who beat the fuck out of her, eh? Best get her back to her people…. But it’s two in the morning! Peter won’t be awake now”

The mercenary picked up the muslim girl and carried her back to his place - well, his and Al’s place. Thank god the blind woman was asleep, he did not need to explain the predicament to someone with less of a chance of being able to visualise it. He set her down on the couch and looked at her left thigh, which was buzzing erratically, and lighting up like mad. Without doing anything creepy, he carefully took the phone from her pocket and saw that someone was calling. Well, they didn’t call him chaotic good for nothing.

“Hello! I am Deadpool, I assume you are this girl’s friend? Carer? Diet assistant?”

“Do you want to feel the most unimaginable pain, Wade Wilson? I know you’re immortal, but I can hurt you so hard that you can’t fathom ever feeling okay again” A woman threatened from the other side of the phone, voice harsh and cutting.

“So, I’m guessing you’re her surrogate mother! Peter has said a lot about you, and I have no doubt that you know how to harvest all my organs in the best way for pricing on the black market. Want me to deposit her body in the Stark lobby? Will some nice bodyguards fondle me as they escort me out?”

“Wilson if she’s dead-”

“She’s not dead, supernanny! Just unconscious and fading fast”

“Right. Look upwards, fuckface” She growled into the phone, and he did, showing him an african girl with guns aimed at his temples.  
“Right! So, are you going to kill me and then help peter grieve afterwards, or..?”

“I am not the executioner, Mr. Wilson” Shuri told him, stepping closer with a smirk “Look behind you”

“Oh! So this is the real supernanny! I didn’t think it was her, because you sound like you come from a family of prostitutes in an english slum, and she sounds like she’s african”

Adina raised an eyebrow at him “Really. Your reputation, surprisingly, matches your character”

“It’s called consistent writing” Deadpool smirked “Anyway! Your child is stinking up my couch, and I’m sure we’ll meet again when my movie producers can afford to hire you both. Good? Good”

“Peter. How do you know him” Adina asked as Shuri started to fix Dila up right there and then.

“I met him when his cute little ass was in that spandex!”

“No, shit for brains, I mean, how do you know him” She repeated “I don’t know if he’s told you, but he is underage, and not only does he have me as a fucked up version of a bodyguard, but Tony”

“I haven’t, ew! No! I’m not a paedophile, I just think he’s cute!”

“Sounds rapey, but I know you have more issues than me so I won’t judge. How’s it looking, baby?”

“She’ll be fine, it’s fine don’t worry” Shuri hummed, finishing picking out the bigger shards “We should get back, she needs medical attention and you may actually torture him if you get any more tired”

“Why shouldn’t I, Shuri?”

“Yeah, why shouldn’t she, Shuri?”

“Because Peter likes him, and Peter is a nice boy”

“Good to know.” He nodded “So, are you going to leave my house?”

“Once Shuri is good to go”

“Babe I have been ready to go for five minutes”

____

Dila woke in her bedroom, dressed in her thor pyjamas. It was all a dream. Letting out a relieved sigh, she flopped back onto her bed and let out a shriek at the shooting pain in her head from the sudden movement.

“Small one. Do not move so fast” Came a voice from beside her, and she knew who it was. Great. Thor Odinson was looking at her whilst she was in pyjamas with his face decorated on them.

“Thor? Where’s ‘Dina? She’s okay, right? And Peter? Ned?” She asked quickly, leaning against her pillows but not completely resting.

“Little spider and Ned are staying in a guest suite. Adina and Princess Shuri have fallen asleep and have asked me to look over you and to make sure you don’t do anything but rest. I can get Loki to summon you food” He motioned over to Loki, who was perched by her bookcase, reading her textbooks.

“Your textbooks are pointless, there is no point or end goal to them” He commented dryly from the corner.

“Welcome to the school system, Loki”


	6. The grief one

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi loves! Coming with a 3,400 word chapter to make up for the last chapter's shortness! <3 Enjoy! Please give me suggestions or just a hello on my twitter = browniebich or! tumblr = convenienc.e (or buttersmycrossaint)

“Love” Shuri spoke softly, walking through the lab and placing a hand on Adina’s shoulder “He is getting better every day, slowly but surely. We are doing all we can, I am doing all I can. Is there anything I can do to rest your head?” She kissed the top of her head “All this sitting is bad for your back, you know. Not good for your training, you know. How can you be England’s greatest defender if you have back issues?” The princess teased, gently pushing her shoulder “Talk to me, angel”

“Just.. I’m worried about him. I’ve never seen him like this, and what if he dies? I don’t know how to deal with the grief! Nothing’s died in my life before!” Adina told her softly, looking at her eagerly “Do you have some of your science wonder-genius magic that could work?” Maybe Shuri had another fix. Another way to solve it.

“I think you need to exercise” Shuri decided “Let’s work on using your weapons I made you, yeah? If an attack happens, you’ll need to help, and I’m sure Tony will want you as an Avenger in no time. Smart, self-sacrificing, stubborn, loving,..... Would look amazing in spandex” 

“Shuri!” Adina laughed, getting up and running a hand through her hair “I am stressed, stop looking at my arse!” She joked with a wink “You’ve got me distracted, c’mon”

“Right! Now, look at this” Shuri lead her over to the mannequin “I made you a necklace- Oh, don’t underestimate me, I didn’t just braid you a few threads together. Look, if you tap the pendant in a right pattern….” She tapped the necklace and a suit formed over the mannequin, dark purple and intricate, and truly impressive.

“Shuri I normally call you a genius a lot, because you are, and don’t ever deny it. Holy hell, you are even smarter than I ever could even fathom. You’re the smartest in the world. Not even Stephen Hawking, rest his soul, is a dunce compared to you!”

“Try it on, try it on, try it on!” Shuri urged, tapping the pattern back in and then taking the necklace off of the mannequin, walking around Adina to put the necklace on her with a smile “Well? Go on! To the pattern of the song lines you always sing whilst working? ‘So take it, take a little piece of my heart now baby,’ That one?”

Adina gasped softly “Shuri! You learnt the thing! Does this mean we can listen to her instead of your drum and bass? As much as I love and adore you, if I hear another one of those songs out of one of your country’s celebrations or occasions, I will genuinely have a breakdown”

The princess let out a loud laugh, kissing her forehead and stepping back “C’mon! Pattern! I wanna see it work! Shh, leave my music alone!”

“Fine” She groaned sarcastically, tapping it and beaming as she felt the suit form over her, her vision not blurred by it. Surprisingly, it was heightened. “Shuri! This is awesome! Oh my god!”

“You do look good in spandex, knew it! C’mon, kick the mannequin. All your strength. The mannequin has just not stopped to let Dila cross on the road!” 

“Is that how you try to hype me up?” She laughed, cocking her leg and then kicking, the mannequin bouncing off of the wall and falling to the ground.

“Shit! Look at you go!” The princess cheered, picking back up the mannequin.

“Shuri. You are needed. Someone is attacking the border, and we believe them to be in large numbers.” Okoye informed her, walking in “Secure the lab, and then get down there. Adina, unless you aren’t ready to die for this country and its safety, come with me, keep your suit on, it will help.”

Adina nodded, not hesitating for even a split second “Will do. Let’s go.”

“‘Dina! You have cannons on your palms! Talk to the AI in your suit, she’ll say the rest! Stay safe!” Shuri called from her computer, securing the lab.

“Ok! Stay safe, I love you!” Adina called through the door, following Okoye and the Dora Milaje out towards the exit.

Shuri thought she would never be as in love with the genius as of that moment. She knew that Adina was a very cautious person, and so when she agreed to fight for Wakanda and it’s safety, she knew she meant it.

As she thought of the dazzling computer brain, she got into her armour and weapons, commencing lockdown of the lab and then running out to go join the fight. Every window she passed, she made sure to check for a dark purple suited woman on the vast land somewhere, and every window she passed, she would see a small dark purple figure kick flipping her way to glory.

“Your girlfriend, she is good” Okoye informed Shuri as they fought side by side, the characteristic spear she held going directly through something’s stomach.

“I know” Shuri grinned, fighting through hoards of what may have once been people, going towards where she thought Adina was, knowing it was immature and selfish to do but needing to know she was okay.

“Oh, fuck off!” 

Shuri heard someone yell, Manchester accent thick and angry. It made her smile, because that Manchester accent meant that Adina was alive, kicking and screaming.

The fight lasted a few hours, Shuri beaming as she realised that they had won. There were corpses littered everywhere, a gory sight in all honesty, but it didn’t really freak her out. It came with the title of Princess, seeing loads of dead corpses, she thought. What did freak her out though, what made her stomach drop and her heart run like a headless chicken, was that she couldn’t see Adina.

“Okoye!” She shouted “Where is Adina?” The warrior begged to all the gods that she never believed in, begging that Adina had done stupid like gone back to the lab without telling her.

“She is here” Okoye replied “We shall start looking”

Well, the search party lasted all of five minutes, Okoye finding exactly what she was looking for and exactly what she wished wasn’t there. 

“Shuri! I found her!” She shouted, rolling the tall girl so that she was on her back, the injury that damaged her so obvious now. Something was in her arm, green and smelling like death. Okoye picked her up, carrying her bridal style to Shuri.

“The lab, the lab!” Shuri shouted, “Get her to the lab, I’ll run with you” She ordered, running alongside Okoye as they raced to the lab. The genius unlocked her lab and took Adina into her arms, too busy and intent on saving her to cry.

“Her father is in the intensive care pod, Shuri” Okoye reminded her 

“Take her father out, put him in the best hospital bed we have” Shuri decided, taking Adina’s pulse and letting out a breath she didn’t know she was holding “She’s still alive.”

Okoye nodded at her, taking Adina’s father in her arms and walking off to the hospital wing. As Okoye speed-walked, he was fading, and fast. Both of them were. Shuri secured Adina in the bed and began her work, not stopping until sunlight, until she knew that Adina was stable. Only then did she sit back in her chair, looking over the girl, and feel a tear roll down her face.

“Shuri” T’Challa began, walking in at the early hours of the morning, seeing Shuri sitting there by the bed, vigilant and holding Adina’s right hand “You need to sleep”

“I’ll sleep when she’s okay. As soon as I get the data I need, I can speed up the recovery” She told him, slurring her words slightly.

“You are working yourself into a hole, Shuri. She will be fine under your care, you are more than capable”

“She’s not okay! She is dying, brother, and it is my fault” The princess wept “I let her go out onto the field without knowing how to use her suit. I sent her to her death, and she willingly went along, a-”

“-Because she loves you” T’Challa interrupted “She knew full well what would happen if she stepped out with the Dora Milaje, and she did it, quite quickly, I have been told. You cannot blame yourself for other people’s actions, and if you do, you will live such a painful life that it is not worth living” He told her honestly “Adina would want you to sleep”

“Adina wouldn’t sleep if she were in my position, T’Challa. I will rest once she is stable, please just let me have that” She begged softly.

“Alright. I love you, little sister, though we do not say it much” He told her honestly, kissing the top of her head “Please take care of yourself”

“Love you too, you softie” Shuri smiled softly, watching him leave and then looking back at Adina, lifeless and pale “I love you, too” She added “Even if you do love your soul music more than you love drum and bass, and even if you do love others more than yourself. That’s why it happened, right? That’s why you got yourself killed. You need to value your life more, love, because there are only so many times that my methods work, and seeing you like this is killing me”

“Shuri” Nakia walked in, carrying tea and teacups, closing the lab door with her foot “I can smell your guilt and sadness from here”

“Thanks.”

“No sarcastic remark? Oh, Shuri.”

___

“Shuri?” Tony called, leading a small line of misfit teenagers around the palatial building “-Ned, don’t touch that” He warned, seeing his oldest child go to touch one of the spears on the wall.

“Sorry Mr Stark” Ned apologised, making Dila and Peter giggle like the schoolchildren they are. 

“Shuri is in here, please refrain from touching anything on the walls” One of the Dora Milaje told the group, though only Tony was really listening. Maybe MJ, probably Peter and Dila, and not Ned. He was busy freaking out over the objects on the walls and the architecture. 

They walked through and instantly they saw Shuri getting up out of a chair, next to the chair there was a bed with someone lying in it. Tony didn’t even bother to say hello to Shuri as he made his way over to the bed, looking over the girl and noticing so many things wrong with the whole scene that he couldn’t comment. After a minute of two of begging himself not to cry, he turned to Shuri and embraced her like his own.

“Thank you so much, kid. I know you’re working your magic, and I couldn’t thank you more. If you need anything, and I mean anything, let me know, alright?”

She nodded, stepping back “Thank you Tony. I have your permission to do what I think is best for her, right?”

“Yes, you do. I trust you fully - you love her, like I do, and you are a genius. You did wonders on Bucky” 

“Thank you, Tony. Did they want to see Adina? Or was there anything you wanted from me - sorry, I’m not at my funniest”

“They wanted to visit the kid” Tony told her, stepping back with her, watching Ned wrap Dila and Peter in his arms, hugging each other as loud sobs consumed them. Dila was crying loudest, as she should be. The woman lying lifeless in the bed had been the strongest figure in her life - unwavering, bold as brass and impenetrable. Now she was lying in a bed, bits missing and face pulled into a frown, iv lines in her arms. She was showing herself for once, weak and fragile. If she wasn’t deep in a coma, she’d protest Shuri taking care of her, the independence rooted in her veins. 

“How are they?” Shuri asked Tony, watching it all unfold.

“They’re coping, and I’ve took all of them in. Peter can stay whenever he wants, and I’ve offered his aunt an apartment in the building for him to stay permanently. Ned’s the same.  
MJ’s already in our program. She hasn’t told anyone, though. I’m trying not to push people away as much, because I don’t want these kids to die thinking I just saw them as apprenticesses, or a hinderance”

“Good, that’s good” Shuri nodded “I took her father off of that bed and onto the next best thing that I could, and he’s not holding up as well as he was. She’ll kill me for valuing her life over his, won’t she?”

“Definitely. You made the right decision, though. Her life is more important than his to all of us, and you especially. She might not like it, but he will have.”

“I can see why people cling to you now, Tony.”

“Hm? Why’s that?”

“You just have something. Would you like to see her upgraded suit? It’s the only thing I’ve been able to work on”

“Yeah, I’d like that”  
___  
After a few days, Shuri had showered and was taking naps - she still refused to leave Adina’s side for long periods, and she couldn’t make the witty puns or sarcastic remarks she used to. Adina was healing, yes, but there were issues, issues that Shuri would have to deal with. 

She sat, perched next to the bed, drawing up ideas upon ideas for this new arm - she didn’t know if she wanted it to be mechanical and powerful, or if she wanted it to be normal, if she wanted it to blend in. Drawing things up like this really makes you think about someone. If she made it over powered, she had the feeling Adina would only go out and hurt herself for the safety of a cat or something as juvenile as that, but she couldn’t stop her, could she? What kind of girlfriend would she be to deny her girlfriend the power she always had? 

All she knew in concrete was that she had to phone someone who had experience with it. Who she had helped with it before. So, she invited him round, apologising to Steve for stealing him off of him, and sat with him next to Adina’s sleeping body, trying to get advice.

“Are there any issues with the prosthetic I made?” She asked first, scared of the reply she’d get, but needing it because she was not going to ruin her girlfriend’s life with inconveniences.

“Can’t fault it” Bucky shook his head, his hair in a top knot.

“What are the prosthetic’s best parts? Tell me it all, James. All of it. Anything you’d like to change? Any ideas to change it with?”

“I have full feeling in the arm, and I can be as gentle as I like with it” Bucky told her honestly, looking at the girl “I’ve seen her around the tower…”

“Yes, she’s the head of many things there and she’s a resident.”

“She hacked into stuff on her twitter, right?”

“You know what twitter is?” 

“..I was shown pictures of it from the little spider”

“Sounds more like it. I thought you ought to know that her main plan is to hack into Arnim Zola’s brain and seek out other high ranking members to put a final stop to HYDRA”

“Do you think she could do it?” He asked hopefully.

“I know so” Shuri told him, never so sure of anything in her life.

“I’d lend my services for the operation, but I fear they’d have the ability to trigger the winter soldier”

“It is okay, Bucky, we do not expect you to do anything major like that. I just need your help on making sure her prosthetic is perfect”

“Whatever I can do, I will do it, Shuri” Bucky told her earnestly, looking over the girl once again, noticing the dark hair, matted with blood. It reminded him of those pictures of himself.

“Thank you. How are you and Steven? Being old and in love?” She asked, sketching yet another arm out.

“Yeah, something like that” He chuckled “Steve is… amazing. Absolutely amazing.”

“Good. You deserve it” She told him, knowing all that he’d gone through from his files.

“So do you, Shuri” Bucky replied, then smiled “How are the children? From the village?”

“They ask about you every day, you know. ‘Where’s mr. wolf!’ They ask. Adorable, really. You should visit them sometime”

“I will, when I get the chance. There’s always somewhere that needs the Avengers” 

“Oh, woe is you, Bucky” Shuri drawled sarcastically, giving him a smirk.

__

“Ned” Dila mumbled into his chest, curled up with him on the sofa as they watched Toy story 3 “I miss her” She admitted, his arms around her making her feel comforted in her angst.

“She’ll come back, Dila, she always does, right? Shuri is looking after her, and she’s going to be okay. I know you see her as an older sister, and I’ll do anything to make you feel better in her absence” Ned told her, gently rubbing her hip over her jumper.

“Nothing could replace her, Ned. I still need a boyfriend though” Dila smirked softly, looking him in the eyes.

“I have found my purpose” He decided, acting like a superhero, husky voice and all.

This only sent Dila into fits of giggles, kissing his cheek “You are something else, Ned Leeds”

“Anyway, do you want to hear my english peice? I think you’ll like it”

“Yeah! You’ve told everyone but me, and I’m beginning to worry - is it about my back pimple?”

“No!” He laughed back, fishing his phone out of his pocket, going into his texts to find the version he had asked Shuri to check “Just listen, and be wooed” 

“Ned…”

“There are lights in her eyes, and in that twinkling hazelnut I see all of the possibilities open to me. I see the kind smile that is fixed to her face, but seems to have truth in it when she looks at me. I see the way she looks when she’s been focusing on art for hours and she finally has an idea. I see the stars.

There is a gap in her teeth. She, admittedly, is resentful of her tooth gap, because she believe it makes her look goofy. I think it just further illustrates the point that she is diversely perfect. The gap in her teeth, it means that sometimes she has a lisp when she’s not concentrating, and my god is it adorable. That gap in her teeth, I am sure it comes out of a fight where they have been knocked. Maybe I am a little too in love with her, a bit biased.

I can see all of these things, as I look at her now. We are, presumably, watching reruns of one of her god-awful shows. I only watch them because she looks so happy, and we have Star Trek marathons frequently. She thinks I don’t know she hates Star Trek. This girl, this burning star, she has cursed everything for me, because I cannot focus in Science. The word ‘star’ triggers me to look at my phone, the lockscreen a picture of us. She is the eight wonder, and to try and convince me otherwise would be to say you have never met her and went stargazing”

“I love you too” Dila smiled “Even if you do make me watch Star Trek.”

“We are literally watching Toy Story 3” Ned pointed out with a smirk 

“And? You love Toy Story 3”

“It’s been on repeat all night”

“We both know I can’t concentrate at the minute”

Then her phone pinged.


End file.
